1. Field
This invention relates to a wrap-around advertising surface, system and method of advertising and more particularly to a wrap-around advertising surface, system and method of advertising on railings or other hand support systems and for use on poles or support beams.
2. Prior Art
Numerous types of media are used to advertise products and services in various settings. The type of advertising media used can vary depending upon the environment in which it is placed.
For example, point of purchase displays are often used to direct consumer attention to product offerings placed inside a store. Large billboards and other types of signage or displays along highways, on windows, on sides of vehicles, and the like are another advertising option and can be effective in attracting the attention of persons passing the display.
Floor graphics are a specific example of a point of purchase display. xe2x80x9cFloor graphicsxe2x80x9d is an advertising industry term used to describe a substrate with graphics printed on the surface thereof, which is placed on the floor near a product display to direct a consumer""s attention to a particular product display. Floor graphics are xe2x80x9cbillboards on the floorxe2x80x9d that project an advertising campaign on the floor.
Various types of advertising media can also be effective to attract the attention of large numbers of people, for example, at a concert venue, a stadium, a race track, etc. As an example, billboards are often displayed at the above-mentioned places. Other examples include graphical displays on digital scoreboards, which are used in stadiums to attract the attention of a large number of people attending a particular event and billboards and/or digital graphics in moving vehicles such as buses and trains. While these methods are effective they can also be expensive and time consuming to program, display and change.
Other methods of advertising include advertising on the vertical risers of steps as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,533 to Lemmond, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 4,054,001 to De Pinna describes a display device for advertising consisting of a vertical support with a unitary sheet of resilient material used for advertising hangings from the vertical support. However, the advertising methods to date are relatively expensive, installment intensive and difficult to display.
Hence there is a need for a wrap-around advertising surface, system and method of advertising which can reach a large number of people while at the same time be cost effective for the advertiser and easy to display. There is also a need for a method of advertising which is easy to apply and can be removed quickly and replaced cost effectively.
The present invention is a wrap-around advertising surface, system and method of advertising on a railing, other hand support system, pole or beam. The wrap-around advertising surface of the present invention is designed to provide cost effective releasably attachable advertising on any railing, feature, surface, grab-bar, other hand support system, pole or support beam. The wrap-around surface is preferably used on a railing, other hand support system, pole or support beam.
In one aspect of the present invention, a wrap-around advertising surface is provided which is releasably adhered to a surface such as a railing, other hand support device, pole or support beam. The wrap-around advertising surface comprises a skin having an outer surface and an inner surface and a 4-way stretchable material layer having an outer surface and an inner surface. The outer surface of the skin layer is imprinted with printed indicia forming a visual image. The inner surface of the skin layer is permanently adhered from edge to edge to the outer layer of the 4-way stretchable material layer. The inner of the 4-way stretchable material layer is completely covered from edge to edge with a releasable adhesive. In another aspect of the invention, a backing layer with an outer surface and an inner surface is placed between the skin layer and the 4-way stretchable material layer to provide additional support. The outer surface of the backing layer is permanently adhered to the inner surface of the skin layer. The inner surface of the backing layer is permanently adhered to the outer surface of the 4-way stretchable material layer.
In another aspect, a system of advertising is presented. The system comprises a wrap-around advertising surface, which has a skin layer and a 4-way stretchable material layer with an outer surface and an inner surface. The skin layer has an outer surface and an inner surface; the outer surface of the skin layer has printed indicia, which presents a visual image. The inner surface of the skin layer is permanently adhered to the outer surface of the 4-way stretchable material layer. The inner surface of the 4-way stretchable material layer is releasably adhered to a railing. In another aspect of the system of advertising presented, a backing layer with an outer surface and an inner surface is placed between the skin layer and the 4-way stretchable material layer to provide additional support. The outer surface of the backing layer is permanently adhered to the inner surface of the skin layer. The inner surface of the backing layer is permanently adhered to the outer surface of the 4-way stretchable material layer.
In yet another aspect, a method of advertising is presented using the wrap-around advertising surface of the present invention. The method of advertising comprises providing a railing, other hand support system, pole or support beam, etc. having a length and alignment targets in a parallel line along its length. Next, placing the wrap-around advertising surface so that the center lengthwise axis of the wrap-around advertising surface is centered on the axis parallel to the length of the railing, other hand support system, pole, support beam, etc. The wrap-around advertising surface of the present invention has alignment targets disposed along an axis parallel to the lengthwise edge of the wrap-around advertising surface and the wrap-around advertising surface folds around the railing such that the alignment targets of the wrap-around advertising surface align with the alignment targets of the railing and the edges of the wrap-around advertising surface abut when folded around the railing.
The wrap-around advertising surface, system and method of advertising will provide a cost effective advertising vehicle for advertisers who wish to provide point of sale advertising and who wish to reach large groups of consumers.